Boot-tree



' .UNITED :STATES- PATENT Fries..

JOHN P. PRATT, 0F MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT-TREE.

SPECIFICATION forming part 'of Letters Patent No. 275,411, dated April 10, 1883.

Application filed September 18, 1882. (No model.)

llo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P.PRATT, ofMilford, county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in BootvTrees, of which the following description, in

by a latch while the boot is being stretched and rubbed ou the said boot-tree.

In boottrees of this class when the dovetailed joint and latch become somewhat worn the foot` portion is loosely held With relation to the remaining portion of the boot-tree, and a gap or ridge is produced at the joint between the said foot portion rand the front of the boottree, which causes animperfection in the leather at that point when the rubbing pressure is applied. When boot-trees of this'description have become 'so much Worn as to produce very imperfect work the joint between the foot and cen ter piece has to be refitted by a process of filling or scraping which occupies considerable time, andusually necessitates the sending ofthe boot-trees' from the factories where they are used to the factories where they are made, so that they may be retltted by the boot-tree manufacturers.

My present invention has for. its object to obviate these difficulties; and it consists in providing means for adjustiugthe various parts as they become worn, so that the foot portion will always be held in proper relation to the remaining portion of the tree, and vwhereby also the foot and remaining portions may be interchangeable among a series of boot-trees, the joint properly fitting throughout the entire series.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a boot-tree embodying this invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section thereof on line rv w, and Fig. 3 a rear elevation of the foot portion of the boot-tree detached.

The foot portion A and center piece, B, and expanding device C may be of any usual coustruction. The said foot portion A is provided with a metallic face-plate, c, fitted to the center B and front portion, D, the lower end only of which is shown in Fig. 1,in the usual manner. The said plate a is provided with a dovetail piece, b, made tapering from top to bottom, as shown in Fig. 3, and longitudinally adjustable on the said face-plate a', as by the adjustingscrew c, working in a lug, d, on the bottom ofthe face-plate a. The said dovetail piece b is iixed in adjusted position by the setscrews e, passing through slots 2 in the said dovetail piece, to enable it to be adjusted longitudinally by the screw c. The dovetail socket for the dovetail piece b is made in two portions,ff, mounted in the center piece, B, of the boot-tree and made laterally adjustable therein, they being held in adjusted position by the set-screws g, (shown as passingthrough slots 3 in the said center piece, B.) By this adjustment ofthe dovetail socket the entire number of a series of center pieces may be adjusted to fit any given foot-piece, which will thus be interchangeable throughout the entire series. The said dovetailed projection and socket-piece form (3o-operating connecting devices for connecting the center piece and foot portion in the proper relative position. As the said dovetailed surfaces Wear, the dovetail piece b may be moved upward on the footpiece A by the adjustingscrew c, the said upward movement, owing to its tapering shape, causing it to cometo a bearing on the'socket ffjin the upwardmovement, bywhich the end of the foot-piece A is brought into contact with the front piece, D, of the tree, thus enabling the said foot-piece A to be always rigidly held in relation to the center piece, B, and front piece, D, and affording a perfectly smooth surface where thefoot-pieee and front piece meet, as at 2, Fig. 1. In order to fasten and retain the said footfpiece in the proper position upon the center and front piece, a latch, h, is provided, it being attached to the dovetailed piece b by set-screws i, and operating in connection with a catclnj, pivoted at 4 upon the center piece, B, of the tree. The

said latch h operates in the usual manner, but

is made adjustable on the dovetail piece b by means of a screw, k, passing through the lug d on the face-plate a. The shanks of the screws t pass through a slot, 5, in the said ICO latch h, instead of through the usual round holes, so as to permit the said lengthwise adjustment, by which the engaging ends of the latch h and catchj may be always kept in the proper relative position as they wear away, so that the latch will always hold the foot-piece A up snugly against the front piece, D, of the tree.

The catchj is actuated in the usual manner by a catch-actuating cam, m, mounted on the movable expanding device C, the said catch being thrown into engagement with the latch by the upward movement of the said expanding device, which takes place in expanding the tree. The said cam has heretofore formed a rigid portion of the said expanding device C; and in order to prevent breakage in case the ends ot' the latch and catch did not properly interlock, the end j' of the said catch that is engaged by the cam on has been made suciently flexible to yield and prevent breakage, this necessitating that the said end should be made of considerablelength. As herein shown, the endj ofthe catch is made short and rigid, and the cam m is made yielding upon the expanding device C, the said cam being shown as pivoted at 6 and normally held by a spring, n, in position to actuate the latch j when the expanding device is moved in the direction ot' the arrow 7 to expand the tree. In case the ends of the latch and catch do not properly interlock, the spring n and cam m would yield, thus preventing breakage of any portion ot' the said latch mechanism.

The socket ff for the dovetail might be made in a single piece adjustable longitudinally upon the center in a manner similar to the adjustment of the dovetailed piece a on the foot portion.

I claim- 1. The combination of the center piece ot' a boot-tree, provided with a longitudinally-tapering dovetail socket-piece, with the foot piece provided with a correspondingly-tapered dovetail projection, and means to adjust its position in the direction of its length on the said foot-piece, whereby the said projection may be caused to accurately t its socket when the said foot-piece is placed in proper position relative to the remainder ot' the boot-tree, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the foot portion of a boot-tree, provided with a dovetail projection, with the center piece provided with a socketpiece made in two portions, and means to adjust the said portions of the socket-piece, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of the foot portion ot' a boot-tree, and a latch and means to adjust its position on the said foot portion, with the center piece and co operating catch, substantially as described.

4. The foot portion of the boot-tree, provided with a latch, combined with the center portion and catch thereon, and the expanding device and catch-operatingcam havinga yielding connection therewith, substantially as described.

5. The face-plate a, provided with a lug, d, combined with the dovetail piece and latch and independent adjusting-screws therefor, substantially as described.

6. The foot portion of a boot-tree and a latch thereon, and a center piece and catch thereon, the said latch and catch forming co-operatin g fastening devices, combined with the means to adjust the position ot' one ot' the said devices on the corresponding portion of the boot-tree, substantially as and t'or the purpose described.

7. In a boottree, a center piece and foot portion provided with (Jo-operating interlocking connecting devices, combined with the means to adjust one ofthe said connecting devices upon the corresponding portion ofthe boot-tree, whereby the said devices may be made to properly interlock when the said portions ot the boot-tree are in the proper relative position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence oftwo snbscribing witnesses.

JOHN P. PRATT.

Witnesses:

Jos. P. LrvERMoRE, B. J. NoYEs. 

